The Traveler Falling
by Icy Heart. Beautiful Soul
Summary: (Sequel to The Traveler) Iceshadow is now a part of Thunderclan, but her problems are far from over. Facing feelings that she doesn't understand, and the Dark Forest's attack just around the corner, Iceshadow must discover where she stands. Either that, or face the wrath of ghosts from her past.
1. Returning

**Yes Everyone! It's here. The sequel to The Traveler. Ready to see Iceshadow again? Well, here you go just like I promised.**

Three moons.

Three moons. That's how long I've been a part of Thunderclan. That's it. Firestar never made me an apprentice because I already possessed all the skills necessary to support the clan. Instead, he assigned Squirrelflight and Leafpool to teach me about the clans themselves. Their history. Their beliefs. Their code.

Briarlight and Cherrypaw were a big help, to. It was nice to get to know my sisters, but whenever Leafpool and Squirrelflight were busy, and Briarlight would tell me about everything and anything. Sometimes Jayfeather would join in the conversation like he used to when I was stuck in the medicine cat's den. More often than not, though, he complained about being too busy. Cherrypaw would always tell her excited stories as we ate by the fresh kill pile. My other friends, like Ivypool and Cinderheart, would answer any of my questions while we were on border patrol. There was so much to learn about the clan I had missed so much of. And I wanted to know it all.

That's why Firestar felt confident enough to let me come to this gathering. My first gathering. He said that if I wanted to know more about the clans, than I need to experience them all myself.

The story of Mudclaw's rebellion ran through my head as I stepped onto the slick bark of the tree bridge. A shiver ran down my spine. To think that he was still under there. Dead. I hurried on and over after Hollyleaf, not wanting to think about the poor dead cat.

The cold, Leaf fall breeze cut through my fur and left me shivering. The moon was already out, with a hint of wispy cloud here and there. A sea of bright eyes flashed before me, where countless cats milled about.

"Wow," I breathed as I stepped off the tree and onto the island. There are so many cats! Memories of Bloodclan flooded my mind. A twinge of my old distrust returned. I barely noticed my claws unsheathe themselves. "Watch it, Iceshadow," Jayfeather snapped as he bumped into me. "Other cats need to get on the island to."

I felt my ears fall back against my head and scrambled away. "Sorry."

"Ouch," a low mew rang out. In my haste to get out of the way, I had run into another cat. The strong stench of Shadowclan flowed over me.

"Sorry," I said again, looking up at the cat. It was a tom. He was slightly taller than me, with mottled, dark grey fur and sky blue eyes. Something about his shape reminded me of Brambleclaw.

"It's all right," he said, taking a step back. "Gatherings can be pretty hectic."

I shivered again. "Is it always like this," I asked. It was strange talking to another clan cat. Besides Thunderclan, the only clan cats I had met where Windclan cats, and that didn't go so well.

He looked around. "Usually. It can take some getting used to." He looked back down at me, his blue eyes locked on my green. "I'm not sure I recognize you. What's your name?"

His friendliness calmed my nerves. I sat down and gave a sigh of relief. "Iceshadow. My name's Iceshadow. What's yours?"

"My name's-" he was cut off as Ivypool bounded up and prodded me in the shoulder.

"Come on, Iceshadow. Riverclan's finally here. The meetings about to start."

"All right. I'm coming." I stood up and started to follow her, leaving the strange Shadowclan cat watching after us.

I followed Ivypool's tail, twisting and turning through clumps of ferns until we came to the clearing. The four leaders were already jumping up onto the tree's lower limbs. My eyes raked over the sea of strange cats. "Do we sit with other Thunderclan cats?"

Ivypool laughed. "Oh yeah. I forgot this was your first gathering." She shrugged and started moving further into the crowd. "You can if you want, but you could also sit with other clan cats if you want. It's a gathering, and now boundaries exist here."

A shiver through my body. I didn't know any of these cats. How could I trust them? Ivypool must have seen my unease. She touched my shoulder with her tail tip, and said, "you can sit with me. I'll introduce you to some cats."

She pulled me along and sat me down next to a clump of cats from all different clans. She pointed to each in turn with a paw. "This is Hollowflight, Minnowtail, you already know Blossomfall, Breezepelt, and Redwillow."

For barely a second, a few of the cat's faces fell. It was instantaneous, and they immediately had calm faces right after. But they had been there. I know it. They didn't want me there. I looked over at Ivypool, but she was smiling, and had started to introduce me. "Everyone, this is Iceshadow."

I fought to keep my fur from rising. My pelt itched at the thought of sitting next to cats that already didn't want me around, but another glance at Ivypool made my swallow my unease. I would sit here for her.

"I've never seen you before," Hollowflight smiled. "Why? Are you afraid of gatherings or something?"

"No," I shot back at him. "I-"

"She was that rogue that Firestar said Thunderclan imprisoned," Breezepelt snapped. He gave me a look of unmasked distaste.

Hollowflights eyes widened. "I don't remember that!"

Breezepelt rolled his eyes. "That's because you weren't at that gathering."

"I would remember something like that," Hollowflight argued.

Minnowtail looked at me in curiosity. "Firestar said that you were a prisoner, though. What happened?"

"It doesn't matter," Breezepelt growled. "Onestar was right about you Thunderclan cats."

Ivypool narrowed her eyes. She turned around and sat down, but managed to smack Breezepelt in the face with her tail. "I already told, you Breezepelt. What happens in Thunderclan is Thunderclan's business alone."

While all of this was going on, I couldn't help feeling amused at the scene playing out before me. They all acted like clanmates. The picking and joking and casual conversation reminded me of the senior warriors around the kill pile. I settled down next to Ivypool and Hollowflight, careful to stay far away from Breezepelt, and let their conversation flow over me.

If cats of different clans were this close at gatherings, than maybe I had been over reacting.

 **Who do you think Iceshadow will fall for? And yes, Ivypool just introduced her to a ton of Darkforest cats. Figured people were getting bored of the prequel, Rising, since you basically know how the story turns out, so I'm bringing the old Iceshadow back. Yes... More mysteries, action and more. I've already got big plans for plot twists that I know nobody will see coming. I'm going to continue to put out chapters in Rising, but now I'm going to work on Falling simultaneously. This is going to be fun. Just wait. ;)**


	2. Stormpatch

The meeting ended with a flick of Mistystar's tail. I watched as Firestar leaped down from his branch and padded into the crowd of cats with Brambleclaw. I saw his tail lift above the bodies of the cats around him, signaling us back to him. Hollowflight stood up next to me. "Looks like it's time to go. It was nice meeting you," he said with a smile and whirled to go join his clanmates.

Ivypool twitched her ears. "Come on. Firestar's waiting."

I rolled my eyes. "I'm coming. Can't a cat enjoy their first gathering without getting harassed?"

She snorted. "You'd be surprised," she grumbled, starting off toward the Thunderclan cats. I followed a few paces back. My eyes darted everywhere, taking in the scenery, the swimming sea of fading cat eyes, until I bumped into a tree. I didn't notice that I had lost Ivypool.

"Ivypool," I cried nervously. Even if the cats had been friendly during the gathering, there was nothing holding them back now that the meeting was over. "Ivypool?" My paws itched and I took off in the direction it seemed like most of the cats were going. She had to be here somewhere.

As I broke through the trees, I could see the pelts of my clanmates ahead of me. I breathed in relief as the familiar scent of Thunderclan washed out of me. I was so relieved that I let my guard down. Stupid me. My paws flew out from underneath me.

"GAAAH," a scream ripped out of my throat as I slammed down on the wet bark of the tree bridge. My hindquarters slipped down and off before I could dig my claws into the wood. I scrambled with my front paws, trying to find a hold with my claws. No use. I was slipping and I couldn't stop it. "HELP!"

There was a pain in my neck as I felt myself plummet toward the water. The world jerked to a stop mid fall. My hind foot splashed into the water, but that was all. What the?

Confusion flooded me as I was slowly raised up until I could climb my way back to the top of the bridge. Someone saved me? Still panting from the slight scare, I lifted my gaze to see the cat who had grabbed me.

It was the cat I had run into when I first set foot on the island. His blue gaze glowed warmly as he looked down at me. "You know, it would be nice to meet each other without having it be some sort of accident."

I blinked. Was he joking with me? The heat of embarrassment coursed through me from nose to tail tip. My lip curled into a snarl. I wasn't going to let this stranger make a fool of me any more than I have done to myself. "Well maybe if you just minded your own business you wouldn't have to worry about it."

One of his ears flicked to the side. He took a step back and closed his eyes. A deep throaty sound reached my ears. He was laughing! "You didn't think that remark out very well. If it weren't for me not minding my own business, you'd be up to your ears in the lake."

"So what," I snarled. "I know how to swim."

"You didn't sound like it when you were calling for help," he chuckled. "So you just didn't want to get your paws wet?"

My ears burned. "Well what about you? Did Shadowclan cats suddenly turn into fish because they live by Riverclan."

His smile fell and his gaze darkened. "I know water better than any Riverclan cat," his voice was almost menacing. "That doesn't mean I have to like it."

That threw me for a loop. I mean, what the heck was that supposed to mean? "Well then you understand what I'm talking about," I snapped.

He nodded, voice going from menacing to grave. "Yes I do. That's why you should thank me." His words once again caught me off guard. Thank him? He had to be joking. What a pain in the tail, being so high and mighty like that.

"Shut up, Stormpatch," someone growled behind him. "You're blocking the tree bridge. If you wanted to talk you should have done it when the gathering was still going."

The comment made me realize that we were still on the tree. The tom's, Stormpatch's, eyes softened "Fine, Crowfrost." He said nodding toward the shore. "Looks like your clanmates are waiting for you to."

I turned to see Firestar watching from the other end of the tree. Annoyance sparked in his eyes. "You're right," I growled, not willing to let go of my temper just yet. I sped across the wood towards the shore, careful to catch my claws against the bark with each step. I could hear Stormpatch's breathing behind me as we moved. Annoying furball.

I sprang off the trunk to land beside Jayfeather. "Can't you do something without getting into trouble," he grumbled.

"That would take all the fun out of it," I retorted. Firestar slid down beside us and signalled his cats to leave with the flick of a tail. Before leaving, I turned to give one last hiss to that tom.

The ground shook a little as Stormpatch leaped down. He was followed by dozens of Shadowclan cats milling about on the shore until Blackstar could get down. I could still see his glowing blue eyes staring at me from the edge of the crowd. Stormpatch, huh? What was his problem?

"Iceshadow," Brambleclaw called. I turned to see my clanmates already to the marsh and they weren't slowing down for me.

"Coming," I answered. I bounded forward after them. My fur burned where the tom's blue eyes kept watching me. I could feel them as I caught up to Cinderheart. I could still feel them when we rounded the bend around the reeds and out of Shadowclans sight.

 **All right. I owe everyone an apology. I meant to take a weak off because I got bored of the story and was hoping a weak away would get me back to top shape. I wasn't expecting school and everything to get so hectic. I had to cut my writing and FFN time into practically nothing. I hope it doesn't happen again, but I realize I cannot promise anything.**

 **Thank you to those who I noticed kept coming back to check on the story. You guys are the reason I write. ;)**


	3. Ghost

Firestar never scolded me for keeping everyone waiting. Brambleclaw kept shooting me annoyed looks but I ignored him. Beside me, Cinderheart saying something about how she couldn't wait to tell Lionblaze everything he had missed. She was probably talking to me but I had tuned out.

So much had happened in one night. I didn't know how to feel about the gathering. It was fun to chat with Ivypool and those other cats, but that furball Stormpatch had ruined my good mood. When we padded into camp, Cherrypaw came rushing up to meet me.

"How was your first Gathering? Did you meet other cats? Did you get into a fight? What about the news? What's happening in the other clans?"

I swiveled my ears away and lifted my tail in an attempt to slow all the incoming questions. "Whoa," I laughed. She never seemed to calm down, did she? "Everything's all right. Of course I met other cats. Why would I get into a fight?"

Cherrypaw stopped bouncing long enough to roll her eyes. "Because the other clans are jerks that like to pick fights."

Fur brushed my side as Ivypool slipped past me through the entrance. She giggled a little. "No, Cherrypaw. The only cat that picked a fight today was Iceshadow."

Cherrypaw's eyes widened and I felt myself get hot beneath my fur. "Did you really?" Cherrypaw asked. "Did you at least take them down with your moves?"

A laugh burst out of me and Ivypool at the same time. "No. It was just a fur ball getting in my way."

Ivypool rolled her eyes. "Yeah. Sure."

"Come on, Ivypool. Didn't you hear him? He was laughing at me."

She shrugged. "He was. I guess I wouldn't have been happy either…" She was cut off as she stretched her jaws into a large yawn.

The sight made me yawn. "Great," Cherrypaw muttered. "You just get back and now you're too tired to have any fun."

I reached over with my tail and gave her a soft whack on the ears. "Hey. You're an apprentice now. Not a kit. You should be getting some sleep too. It's late and I don't think Foxleap will want you falling asleep during your training sessions."

She gave a heavy sigh. "Fine…"

That cat really knows how to pull my tail. "Fine," I gave in. "We'll do something tomorrow. Maybe some hunting or practice some moves. I could even tell you all about the gathering if that's what you really want."

She whirled around, eyes shining. "Really?"

"Yes, really," I said with a chuckle. "AFTER you're done training with Foxleap."

"You got it, Iceshadow," she said, hurrying off toward the apprentice's den. "That means I have to get to sleep soon. The sooner I sleep, the sooner tomorrow will come."

Ivypool shook her head. "You'd swear she's still a kit."

I couldn't hold back a little meow of laughter. "She keeps things interesting, though. I hope she never changes." I turned toward her and motioned towards the warrior's den. "We should probably get some sleep ourselves. I don't know about you but I'm exhausted after that gathering."

Ivypool pulled back a little, unease clear on her face. "You go ahead. I… uh… I want to talk to Dovewing first." With that, she pivoted on her paws and started toward the prey pile where Jayfeather, Lionblaze, and Dovewing were talking. What's up with her?

Shrugging it off, I made my way to the warrior's den and settled down in my nest. The place was cramped. If only I could stay in the medicine cat's den with Jayfeather and Briarlight. The thought was tempting, but I knew it would never happen. Only sick and injured cats should be in there. Anybody else and it would be taking from the clan.

My eyes grew heavy, and as the warmth of my nest enveloped my, I was swept off into a deep sleep.

Darkness surrounded me. I couldn't breath. Couldn't move. Were my eyes even open? "Ice. It's been so long." The voice seemed to whisper to me from miles away. A soft flicker from below caught my attention. There was water just below my paws. Rushing, brown and tainted in a rocky scoop of earth. It smelled rank. Like the rotting twoleg rubbish from when I was just a kit.

"Where am I," I called to the voice. "How do you know my old name?" I jumped in surprise as a forest lit up around me. The light didn't seem to come from any stars, or a moon. Instead, glowing mushrooms illuminated clumps of rotten ferns and brush. Dead and dying trees reached down with mangled branches. Any leaves still on the trees completely blotted out the sky.

A low laughing sounded, louder than the voice had originally been. "Oh, Ice. Do you really not recognize the sound of my voice?"

"Don't listen to them, Iceshadow," another voice echoed in my ears. Feathetail. "Get away. Run NOW!"

My paws scrabbled as I tried to back away from the river. Get away. But where do I go? "That hurts my feelings Ice. After everything we went through and yet you try to run…" The voice was so familiar. I knew them somehow. But who exactly was another question.

My fur raised on end as a rotten clump of ferns opened up next to me. "At least you knew me in the flesh. This cat has only ever been a ghost to you."

The fronds parted. My mouth dropped.

"It… It's you…"

 **Cliffy. Sorry about that. Free cookies to anyone who can guess who met up with her in the Dark Forest. And just so you know, she know's plenty of cats from her deep dark past. To make it fair, I won't make it anybody I haven't introduced in Rising yet. (;**


	4. Clanmates

The dark shape moved out from the shadows. "Yes. It's me. It's been too long, Iceshadow. I'm surprised you still remember me."

I took a step back. The world seemed to spin around me. This can't be…. It's impossible. "I saw you die," I hissed, digging my claws into the dead leaves under paw. "You… you were. No cat could have lost that much blood and survive."

Amber eyes flashed at my remark. "True. But once a clanmate always a clanmate. Right?"

"You were never a clanmate to me, Striker," I growled. "Bloodclan was never a clan."

Pale grey fur blurred past my nose as the cat swiped out a paw and hissed in annoyance. "So what? We were held together by something even more powerful than your precious 'clan.' We had strength, power, all the power in twoleg place in fact. And then you turned your back on it to…"

She cut herself off. Bristled fur started to flatten against her back. She regained her composure. "Forgive me. I seem to have forgotten why I'm here." She licked a paw and drew it over her ears in an attempt to appear bored. She didn't fool me for a second. "The only reason I'm here is because Scourge wants his little pet, Ice, back."

"It's Ice _shadow_ now, and Scourge is dead too," I spat. "If you're just going to make useless remarks then I'm finished here. That was Feathertail's voice I heard, so that means this is all just a dream. I'll just wake myself up." I unsheathed my claws and scraped them across my pad. My fur raised at the surprising pain. Blood oozed out. That's impossible. It hurt. How was I not awake?

My thoughts were cut off as a lump of pale grey fur slammed into my side. Claws slid down my side, opening another fresh and painful wound. "Stupid _Ice_. Don't you realize that, dream or not, this is all real?"

Fear coursed through my veins. Even if it was real, that this was truly the ghost of my lost clanmate, then how could she hurt me? She was already dead. She shouldn't be able to do anything to me.

She bucked, preparing to slam her forepaws down on me with all the force she could muster. I froze, caught in a loop of time. My eyes were lying to me. It was the same as when I was a kit.

Time seemed to slow. For a moment, everything was frozen. A choice stood in the air. Use what I had learned or die. Freeze, or move. Live in the past, or move on. No!

I kicked out with my hind paws. My claws tore open her exposed belly, then I whirled around and slammed a paw into her throat. A dirty trick. I had wished for moons that I could have used it on her.

She fell backwards, set off balance by my oncoming blows. Not wasting time, I scrambled to her side and stood over her, lifting a paw to strike again.

"Wow," Striker said in a raspy voice. A racking cough shook her body and blood sprayed from her mouth with each hack. She raised her amber eyes to me in a look of triumph. "You're still Bloodclan all right."

Her words hit me like a tree. My eyes shot to my blood covered, tortoiseshell paws. I did this. I lost control… again. The ground seemed to sway below me. I staggered backwards, in an attempt to get away from what I just did.

Striker started laughing painfully at my reaction. "All the talent is still there, but it looks like you went soft." I shook my head. Can't let her get to me again. "Scourge was right about you," she continued, shakily struggling to her paws. "Today, though, I'm just his messenger, sent to the Dark Forest with the permission of Brokenstar to tell you that he needs you once more. Not now, but soon. That, when the time comes, you WILL stand at his side."

My senses seemed to return, as my pelt itched with anger. "I'm done with Bloodclan, Striker. Not you, or Bone, or even Scourge could ever make me obey again."

Her gaze looked slightly amused as she watched my white tail whip back and forth. "You don't have a choice in the matter, Ice. It's already coming, whether you like it or not."

Her words set off a chain reaction. All around us, the dead forest came to life with the sound of screeching cats and angry glowing eyes. I shrank back, completely taken off guard. All around us were strange silhouettes of cats clawing, biting, fighting. KILLING. I couldn't see any of the faces. Didn't know them at all. Blood splattered and washed the forest floor in scarlet. And in the center of it all, Striker stood and watched with a smile as the warring cats grew closer.

My gaze darted back and forth. I shrank back, shivering. So much blood! "Stop them Striker. Do something. I...I…"

She sat down and licked her chest a few times. "I can't. Neither can Scourge. Or you. It's coming, no matter what."

"No. NO!" I shouted, turning and running through the trees. "Feathertail! Where do I go? Where are you?" The Starclan warrior never answered. Only the sound of the fighting filled my ears.

As I ran, the shadows encasing the strange cats seemed to lift. I could make out pelts. Faces too. I still didn't recognize any… until I came to a clearing.

I stopped at the edge of the trees in shock. There stood Ivypool, looking up at a cat that at first I thought was Brambleclaw. It wasn't. He seemed familiar though. Just below her was a ragged looking Blossomfall.

The tom's blue eyes flashed. "Again," he shouted, and Ivypool let out a fur raising snarl and leaped on top of Blossomfall. They were fighting.

I stepped back. "This can't be real," I whispered. It didn't make sense.

In front of me, the two she cats reared, wrapping their tails around their legs. I felt my jaw drop. I knew that move all too well.

I felt like I was watching them with new eyes now. Everything that had happened. The fight with the fox… I hadn't noticed before but now I knew. I KNEW. How had I not noticed before when it was just me and Ivypool? And with the few lessons I had with Cherrypaw, I quickly noticed which of my moves were clan moves and which ones weren't. And here were two of my clanmates using moves not taught in Thunderclan. I don't know how they knew them, but I knew that however they learned them wasn't good. It was dangerous. It was for killing. How did I know that?

Because they were using Bloodclan moves.

 **It was Striker! If you haven't read Rising, then I'm sorry for pulling the wool over your eyes. Thank you Nightmarethefoxwitch for guessing. I added Hawkfrost in there for you. So have some cookies. (::) (::) (::)**

 **Can anyone figure out how Darkclan cats ended up using Bloodclan moves? If not, don't worry. I'll explain everything farther in the story. ;)**


	5. Suspicion

"Wake up, Iceshadow! I think you're having a bad dream!"

My eyes snapped open at the sound of Cinderheart's voice. "Huh?" I shot up so quickly my head slammed into the side of the warrior's den. "Oww!" I'm such a stupid fur ball.

Cinderheart burst into laughter. I shot her a look. She at least had the decency to try to hold it in for a few seconds before exploding back into laughter. "I.. I'm sorry. It's just that when I said wake up _ **,**_ I didn't actually mean wake _**up**_ and into the wall."

"Ha ha. Very funny," I meowed sarcastically and rolled my eyes.

He laughing slowed until there was nothing more than a worried glint in her eye. "You looked like you were having a pretty bad dream, and you're bleeding. Are you okay?"

The dream! A glance at my bloody pad and side reminded me of everything that just happened. Or did it happen? My head snapped back and forth to take in all of the warrior's den. "Yeah. I'm fine," I said hurriedly. "Have you seen Ivypool anywhere? Or Blossomfall?"

"Of course," she said, cocking her head I could tell she was confused. And worried. "They're still sleeping." She flicked her tail towards the back of the den, where Ivypool, Blossomfall, and a couple of other cats were peacefully sleeping. How…. "I think you have other things to worry about more. Come on. Let's get you to Jayfeather's den," Cinderheart said.

She pressed her side against me to lean on. Reluctantly, I allowed her to lead me away. I didn't even notice the pain in my side or foot. Too many thoughts whirled in my head. It couldn't have been a dream. The scratch Striker had given me was there when I woke up. So was the scratch on my pad that I had given myself.

"Here," Cinderheart pushed aside the screen to the medicine cat den. "Jayfeather. Your old patient is back."

"For the love of Starclan," Jayfeather grumbled. "What did you do now, Iceshadow?" The grumpy tom dragged himself out of his nest and started to sniff my scratched side.

Briarlight's head popped up from her nest. "Oh my. You look awful. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," I grunted. "It's just a little blood. I'm not even limping." Briarlight continued to stare from the other side of the den. Guess I wasn't fooling anybody.

"Nonsense," Jayfeather snapped. "You don't get this injured in a…" He cut himself off and looked at me suspiciously. His blind blue eyes seemed to stare into my soul. Yup. Not fooling anybody.

"She was thrashing around in her sleep," Cinderheart said, trying to break the awkward silence. "There must have been a thorn in her bedding or something and she tore herself up on it. Not to mention the fact that she ran into the wall of the warrior's den as soon as she woke up." That last part came out with a little giggle.

"I'm sitting right here," I snapped.

Jayfeather ignored me. "Fine. You can go. I'll patch her up. You're lucky they're pretty shallow."

Cinderheart nodded and padded out. The bramble screen clattered behind her. Silently, Jayfeather went to his store and gathered a few herbs and cobwebs. Briarlight was a different story.

"What was your nightmare about? It must have been pretty awful." I caught her staring at my side.

She wasn't wrong. "It was about… about my past." It was partially true. Scourge and Striker were nothing but memories, but I didn't want to tell her about the future Striker told be about.

"Briarlight, how about you go start your exercises outside?" Jayfeather's words were clipped. "It would do you some good to start a little early since I'm sure there's no going back to sleep by now."

She seemed confused, but nodded her head. "If you say so." Slowly, the she cat picked up a wad of moss in her jaws and dragged herself out.

Jayfeather smacked a wad of cobwebs onto my pad. "Why don't you tell me what your dream was really about?" I shrank beneath my fur. Nosey furball. He had never pried like this before I was a clan cat. My old distrust came back and my walls shot up.

"Why's it matter," I shot back, wincing as he licked some marigold juice into the cut on my side. "It's just a stupid dream. Nothing that matters."

He eyed me for a moment, then patted another cobweb into place. "Perhaps. But perhaps not. Starclan sends me messages through dreams, and they're as real as you and I."

I had to fight to keep my fur from raising. Did he know what my dream was about? Did Striker somehow end up in Starclan? No. That's not right. Her words came back to me.

 _Today, though, I'm just his messenger, sent to the Dark Forest with the permission of Brokenstar…_

That wasn't Starclan. "No," I said as Jayfeather stepped back to inspect his work. "I know it wasn't Starclan. It was just some old memories coming back to haunt me."

He didn't look convinced. "Well I suppose you have plenty of those." Ouch. That comment hurt. "You'll be fine to go on patrol today. Just don't push yourself or the cobwebs will come off," he added as if it were business as usual. I guess it was for him.

"Thanks, Jayfeather," I said tightly. I was so confused, and a little ticked at him. I was glad when he let me get out of there.

Behind me, I could here him say something under his breath. Something strange. "Looks like I'll be seeing you in your dreams tonight." He probably thought I couldn't hear him. I didn't even want to guess at what he meant.

Outside, Briarlight was batting around her ball of moss. She dropped it when she saw me. It rolled out of her grasp and to my paws. "Here," I said, kicking the ball back to her.

"Thanks," she shouted, catching it with a claw. "Jayfeather done fixing you up?"

A smile worked its way up on my lips. "Yes." I lifted my bandaged paw. "I'm good to go."

"Good," Brambleclaw's voice caught me off guard as he padded up to us. "Do you think you can handle going on the Shadowclan border patrol like I had originally planned?"

I shook my head excitedly. It would be nice to have something go normally today. "I'd love to."


	6. Laughter and Walls

My paw stung a little as I shot through the undergrowth. "Hurry up, Iceshadow. Those borders won't mark themselves."

I stumbled a little then picked up speed. "Coming, Foxleap," I shouted, rolling my eyes. Stupid fur ball. He knew I injured my paw.

The trees opened up a little as we neared the Shadowclan border. I skidded to a halt next to Brackenfur and Foxleap. Blossomfall stood a little ways away. The sight of her made me shiver. She couldn't really have been in my dream. Cats don't share dreams. At least, that's what I told myself.

"About time you decided to show up," Foxleap taunted, flicking his tail.

"She may be new to the clan, but she is still older than you," Brackenfur scolded. "Respect your senior warriors. You're a warrior yourself now. You should know better."

Foxleap visibly drooped at Brackenfur's words. "Sorry," he mumbled.

I straightened up. "It's all right, Brackenfur." A smile inched its way up on my face. With a flick of my tail, I caught Foxleap in the face as I walked past him toward the border. "He's not much more than a kit himself."

"Hey!" Foxleap jumped up. His fur started to bristle. His eyes glittered with an unsaid challenge. "Who are you calling a kit?"

Brackenfur rolled his eyes. "I swear, you are no better than him. You'd think a cat your age would be more mature."

"How do you know her age, exactly?" Blossomfall's voice was filled with laughter as it broke into the conversation. She was smiling. Looks like I started something.

"I don't, but I know that she's older than both of you-"

"Let's not get into my age, okay," I broke him off. "He was right, I shouldn't have flicked Foxleap," I said.

Brackenfur looked at me with a mixture of annoyance and thanks. Foxleap sat back down, looking proud again. "Thank you," he said with a nod.

I couldn't help it. "Even if he did deserve it," I whispered so that only he could here me.

He shot me a look. What can I say? It's hard to be mature when it was so much fun to let loose. I was tired of having to be the strong one that can't enjoy herself. Maybe that's why I get along so well with Cherrypaw?

I stood up before Foxleap could say anything. "Come on. Those borders won't mark themselves."

"Sure," Blossomfall mumbled. She seemed disinterested all over again.

Brackenfur padded ahead. "I'll start up here. Watch out for any Shadowclan scent on this side of the border. They've been keeping their borders strong for some reason lately."

"You got it," I called.

"Okay," Foxleap said, heading the other way towards the lake. Blossomfall didn't respond at all. I couldn't even tell if she had heard him.

Then it was just me. I could still hear the others somewhere farther off in the underbrush, but I was still alone. I marked a fallen log at the border, trying to focus on the task at hand. Try as I might, it wasn't happening. My thoughts kept drifting to that dream and how Jayfeather reacted. He acted like I was a traitor or something for not wanting to give him every last detail.

I moved ahead, lost in thought, not noticing the sound of oncoming cats. "Hey there.

My head snapped to the side as I searched for the source of the voice. Blue eyes stared at me from the shadows on the other side of the border. Immediately, my defenses went up. "Border patrol," I said. My voice came out tight. I wanted to hiss but kept my composure as best as I could. "At least I don't hide in the shadows as I do my duty as if I did something wrong."

The eyes bobbed forward until a certain, mottled grey tom stepped into the light. "I've done nothing wrong." He smiled. "Just check the border. Not a scent out of place."

Stormpatch. I rolled my eyes, but opened my mouth to taste the air. Just in case.

"See," he said. "Nothing to hide. You don't always have to be so jumpy." He flicked his tail carelessly.

"I'm not jumpy," I said, letting a little ice trickle into my words. "And what are you even doing at the border alone. Seems pretty suspicious to me."

He looked me up and down. "You're jumpy. No denying it." He completely ignored my question. I struggled to keep my fur lying straight. This cat really got under my pelt.

I sighed, letting go of my frustration. "If you're not going to say anything useful, then I'm moving on. I've got a job to do." With that said, I turned my back on him and started up the border to mark another bush.

"Hey! Wait up," he shouted. There was a rustling behind me as he started to pad after me on his side of the border. "I'm on a hunting patrol. Chased a mouse towards the territory and heard some voices. I thought I'd check it out."

I kept walking. "So you willingly went by yourself towards what could be a group of enemies? It doesn't sound like a smart plan to me."

"You didn't see me until I spoke, did you?" His words stopped me in my tracks. I turned to see him flashing a wide smile. It was true and he knew it. I never noticed him, and the rest of the patrol didn't seem to notice him either.

"Maybe… but I still think you're mouse brained." I let him have his little victory.

"I can live with that," he said, tail tip twitching in amusement. "So what's a she cat like you doing out here?"

I started walking again. He continued to follow. "Border patrol," I grumbled. Why couldn't he just leave me alone? "I already said that."

"I know," he mewed. "You just didn't seem to be into it. It looked like something else was going on."

Now a stranger from Shadowclan was prying into my business? "Great Starclan! Now you're going to interrogate me for thinking?" I couldn't help the outburst. I was at the end of my temper. "Do you treat your clanmates this way? I can't imagine how they can live with you."

I immediately regretted saying the words as soon as they were out of my mouth. Never would I have said that to one of my clanmates. Not even Berrynose.

To my surprise, Stormpatch didn't seem to be hurt. Instead, he had his head tilted in thought. His blue eyes narrowed, but danced with laughter. "I don't know," he said. "I'm sure they must be used to it by now. What about you? Do your clanmates have to live with your prickliness every day or is it just with strangers?"

My paws froze. A flicker of anger burned in my belly, then was immediately extinguished by something warmer. Laughter. It bubbled up until my tail curled with it. Maybe I should be ashamed. He basically insulted me, even though he didn't intend to. Still… It was the way he said it. Completely calm in a singsong voice. He had even batted his eyes for good measure. On top of that, he was right.

His ears pricked in surprise at my reaction. "Woah. I didn't think it was that good of a come back."

"No," I gasped, trying to regain my breath. "It's not that. Just the way you did it. And you are completely right."

He raised an eyebrow. "You have your claws out at all times?"

I shook my head. "No. I don't like strangers. At all. Because of that, even my clanmates DID have to deal with my 'prickliness' for a while."

His eyes widened. "So you're THAT she-cat. The one Firestar and Onestar got into an argument over when the clans were having a rogue problem. I wondered why I hadn't seen you at a gathering before. Maybe at the next one we could share some stories like elders."

Realization slammed down on me. I had let my guard down and didn't notice. He knew exactly who I was now. "Yeah. So what," I growled. I hoped he couldn't see the pain in my eyes. Even to a stranger I would always be "that" cat. The rogue Firestar took in. It was sickening and I wanted to be done talking to this tom.

He stepped back, surprised at me change of attitude. Get used to it. "I'm sorry. I just-"

The rustling of some nearby ferns cut him off. Brackenfur stepped into sight. "I think we covered this area enough. Go get Foxleap and I'll find Blossom-" Brackenfur stopped as he spotted Stormpatch. "Is something the matter."

The grey tom stiffened. "No," I mewed, trying to sound calm again. "He's part of a hunting patrol, and was just leaving."

Stormpatch's eyes softened. I could tell that he didn't want to leave. "Yes. I was just going." To my relief, he turned and slowly walked back towards the Shadowclan camp. I watched as the shadows fell over him, then took him from sight.

 **I hope you'll be happy to hear that I'm changing my chapter post day. Instead of posting a new chapter every Tuesday, I'll be posting ever Saturday or Sunday. Figured I should warn everyone. This will fit with my new schedule much more easily. ;)**


	7. At It Again

"That was so much fun," Cherrypaw shouted as she bounded into the thorn tunnel. I followed after, careful not to let the branches bump my cut up side. "You and Foxleap were amazing, and now I can do that move to."

A smile played on my lips. "So did we make it up to you for not waking you up and bringing you on patrol with us this morning?"

Her eyes sparkled mischievously. "Almost…" Quick as a flash, she leaped forward and batted me across the nose with soft paws. Then turned and ran away as I stood shocked and blinking. "Can't catch me."

I shook off the surprise immediately. "Oh yes I can." I took off after her. My fur flattened as I pushed forward, Cherrypaw's tail visible just ahead.

"Watch it," Millie cried as I nearly ran into her.

"They're at it again," Toadstep chuckled from his place by the kill pile.

We flew past Molepaw. The young tom looked up from his mouse in surprise. "Come on, Molepaw," Cherry paw shouted back at him. "Race with us."

He paused for a moment, then ran at us from behind. "Okay!"

A smile played at my lips as we turned, following the edge of the rock face. Dirt sprayed out behind me as I turned on a dime. "Whoa. Hey!" I looked back to see a dirt covered Hollyleaf shaking herself off.

"Sorry Hollyleaf," I shouted, turning back to Cherrypaw. I was gaining on her. Molepaw was just behind me. Just two more tail lengths. One…. "Got you!" My paws grasped into Cherrypaw's back as I leaped on top of her. Molepaw ran into my back and we went down.

We fell over, rolling to a stop a little ways away from the entrance. We had circled the entire camp.

Panting we pulled ourselves up. I had won. "Yes!"

"You two need to grow up," Spiderleg growled from his place by the warrior's den.

"Never," Cherrpaw giggled. "That was so much fun. I could do that all-" **Gurgle.** She was cut off by her protesting stomach. "Well… almost all day." **Rumble.**

"You sound like you haven't eaten in days," Molepaw said, poking her in the side. I probably should have been hungry to. It was getting late, and the sun was starting to set. Yet… I didn't really want to eat.

"I guess I am pretty hungry." She stood up and started trotting toward the kill pile, where Foxleap was waiting with a black bird. Molepaw followed, settling down with Rosepetal. Leafpool stood a little ways away, looking for something to eat.

"Here," he said, dropping the bird. "Let's share."

Cherrypaw's eyes became as round as moons. "That looks amazing." She sat down and tore a mouthful of feathers away.

Meanwhile, Leafpool picked a shrew out from the bottom. "Hey, Iceshadow! You want to share with me?"

It would have been nice to eat with my unknowing sister. She was a little more open to me than Squirrelflight, but I wasn't hungry. More than anything else, I was tired. Turning my nose to the sky, I saw a the first few stars of Silverpelt start to glitter.

"Sorry Leafpool. I'd love to, but I think I'm just going to go to my nest."

She pricked her ears. "But it's still early, and aren't you hungry."

"No," I shook my head. "Really, I'm not that hungry."

"She probably is feeling tired." I stiffened in surprise as Jayfeather came to my defense. He stepped out from behind me and looked straight at me. It was still hard for me to accept that he was blind. "She woke up before the dawn patrol, remember? Not to mention how she injured herself. That paw must be bugging you."

Had he been there the entire time? And how come he was coming to my defense? My paw did sting a little, but no more than it did this morning when I was running on it. I narrowed my eyes.

"Oh. I'm sorry. I must have forgotten," Leafpool's ears tilted in confusion. She seemed to wilt in disappointment. "I should have noticed the injury before."

Jayfeather didn't move. His face was set like stone. A flicker of anger rose within. I knew now that he was her son, but he didn't have to let her beat herself up like this. She deserved to be a medicine cat, and to treat her like that was just cold.

I turned on him, raising my tail. He couldn't see it, but I didn't care. "No, Leafpool. It's all right. I was purposely trying to hide it. It was just a silly thorn in my bedding last night. I promise I'll eat with you next time." Jayfeather didn't react. Stony instead of his normal short tempered act.

"Oh. Okay." She sounded confused. Maybe because of my suddenly steely behavior towards Jayfeather. We were friends, after all. Or at least I thought we were.

I padded away, thoughts whirling around in my head. He was up to something. I knew it... somehow. As I lay down in my nest, I did a quick look over for any thorns. None. I wasn't going to get hurt in a dream tonight.

My eyes flicked open to a scene that made my heart skip a beat. I was standing alone in the middle of a thunderpath. It was dark out, and now stars could be seen in the night sky. Instead, bright yellow eyes glared down at me from down the path, getting closer by the second. Panicking, I scrambled to the side and off the harsh stone just as the monster lumbered past.

I looked around. Tall twoleg nests rose up around me. Piles of rubbish sat scattered around the long unused path leading down an abandoned alley. At one end, a twoleg fence was visible. At the other, a shiny twoleg thing, hollow on the inside and gaping like a cave, was leaned against a heap of rubbish. The sights around me made my breath catch in my throat. I knew this place. Knew it awfully well. Better than my own claws.

I was back in Bloodclan's territory. Just pawsteps away from my old nest.

 **Do you think she's gonna get hurt? I'm not so sure myself. ;) Please remember to leave a review. I'm really floundering with this story. You'd think it's a good sign when almost 150 people read a story every time a new chapter is published. (especially on a Tuesday. Impressive.) Then I worry it sucked when none of them have anything to say about it. Does it suck? If so... I'll try harder. I'll go to some betas, even if I am one.**


	8. Kits, Kin, and a Stranger

A familiar voice sent shivers down my spine. "Welcome back, Ice _shadow_."

I wouldn't turn. Couldn't turn. It hurt me too much. I wouldn't give him that satisfaction. Not after everything he did to me.

The voice sounded again, slightly hurt as if I had hurt his feelings. "It's been moons. Won't my kit even greet me?"

I lifted my head, still not daring to turn around. I simply stared ahead at the stone wall before me. "No Fa-" I cut myself off, biting down on the word before it could make its escape. "No, Tigerstar. I won't. I'm not your kit."

I shivered as I felt his fur brush against mine. I closed my eyes, dropping my head to the paws. I wouldn't look at him. "But you are," he sounded wounded. "It was I that helped raise you, wasn't it? What about all those times when we played Fox Attack? All those mock fights and stories we shared every night? Who taught you how to hunt and the beginnings of how to fight?"

His words cut deeper than any claw, for one reason and one reason only. They reminded me of my life with Mother. "YOU'RE NOT MY FATHER," I screamed. It was more of a reminder to myself than me telling him what is true. You would think it would be hard, because I had once thought of him as my hero. I had loved him. It wasn't hard. That hero was dead to me long before he truly died.

I could feel him pull back in surprise, then the heat of his pelt as his pain turned into anger.

"Yes I am. I was more of a father to you then that piece of fox dung, Firestar. What had he ever done for you?"

"Nothing," I hissed, flinging my eyes open and staring at Tigerstar. "He never had the chance to."

Tigerstar got a smug look on his face. "And what about now? Now that he, 'has the chance.'"

A lump formed in my throat. I looked away again. "This is a dream. Just like when I saw Striker." The pain from the scratch on my side and paw flared up painfully at the words, but I ignored it. My mind must be going. I'm living in the past.

"Yes," Tigerstar said, softening a little. "Scourge let me meet you here. He figured it would be good if you saw a place that you recognized. Especially after how our your little meeting in the Dark Forest went."

More riddles. These dead cats must just spend their afterlife coming up with new ones, because they had a new one at every turn. "Just tell me why I'm here so I can hurry up and wake up," I snapped.

He wrapped his tail around my shoulders in a show of comfort. I shrugged it off with disgust. His amber eyes glinted with fire, but he stayed calm.

"I want to prove to you that I really did care about you. How I always did think of you as my kit."

I laughed. One of those mad laughs that cats give when they are on the brink of madness. "Care about me? You gave me to Bloodclan and wanted to use me to-"

"I know," he cut me off. "I know. It was a mistake. I couldn't see what was right in front of me, I was so blinded by ambition. But now that I'm dead, I've had a chance to see what I couldn't before. How I was lucky to have so many cats that had cared for me. Sasha, Goldenflower, Leopardstar… And such good kits."

Despite myself, I found my eyes rising back to the tom. I was looking at him.

"I did love you. I just didn't know it at the time. I want to spend time with my kits, like I never could before, and to prove it to you..." He waved his tail, and another shadow emerged from the edge of the alley.

It was another Tigerstar! It couldn't be possible. "This is Hawkfrost," Tigerstar continued. "You probably know him as Hawk from Sasha's stories."

My eyes widened in realization. Not a Tigerstar, but another son like Brambleclaw. I started to notice the differences immediately. Namely, his glowing blue eyes. I had never met the tom myself until now, yet he seemed familiar. Little Hawk had grown up.

"B..b...but," I stuttered.

Hawkfrost lowered himself into a bow. "A pleasure to meet you," he meowed.

Tigerstar smiled. "He's been with me for a while now, and even before then, he had been visiting. Brambleclaw too." I almost missed it, but both of the tom's eyes darkened at the mention of the deputy. "All my kits come to spend time with me. Now that you're here in the clans, we can be together again. Just like when you were a kit."

This was all too much. I backed up from the two. Something… Everything felt wrong. They were hiding something. "You… You're lying," I hissed, backing up some more, until I bumped into a pile of rubbish.

"He really isn't," Hawkfrost said with a smile. A smile worthy of a fox. That smile was all it took for me to recognize him. He was the one that stood watching as Ivypool and Blossomfall attacked each other.

"You were in that dream," I breathed. "You were causing some of the bloodshed."

Hawkfrost's eyes narrowed. Tigerstar shot him a look that could kill, then turned back to me. "Yes. We have to stay there in that awful place, and fight to improve. We are a clan there."

A clan. A word that had stopped affecting me brought back fresh new memories, almost as bad as the old ones. Blood. Death. Killing. No stars.

"You belong with us, Iceshadow. We are family, whether you acknowledge it or not." Tigerstar's voice became harsh. Edged with anger and full of foreboding. "Won't you fight alongside us? Help us be happy one last time?"

Hawkfrost's claws flicked out. They glinted in the dim light. Stepping backward, I wondered if I could kill dead cats. "No, Tigerstar." I lifted my head and stared him straight in the eye. "You're dead to me, and I will never fight for you again."

He snorted. "Go ahead, Hawkfrost. Kill her. Maybe then we can force her to stay."

"Finally," he growled leaping forward.

I unsheathed my claws, but I didn't have to. **Clang!** Both the toms were thrown to the side as one of the hollow shiny things fell from a ledge on the side of a twoleg den and landed on them.

"What in the name of Starclan," I shouted, looking up at the ledge. Blue eyes stared back down at me.

"Get her," Tigerstar growled, shoving the thing away with his hind paws. Hawkfrost leaped to his feet and pounced. My paws felt like they had turned to stone.

"RUN you," came a voice from above. Grey fur flashed as the blue eyed cat leaped in front of me, landing on the incoming Hawkfrost.

"Stay out of our way," hissed Hawkfrost. They raised up on their hind legs and locked paws in a ferocious grapple.

"Leave her out of this," hissed the grey cat. He sounded… familiar.

"You aren't welcome here," Tigerstar yowled. He hunched his haunched in preparation to leap.

Finally, my feet decided to move. I didn't think about what I was doing. Just dove for him. "Graaaaaah." His eyes widened seconds before I landed on top of him, sinking my claws into the fur on his back. "Okay, _Father._ You wanted to play fox again. Well, we're playing fox."

He dropped, attempting to roll me over. I held on as his full weight crushed me beneath him. Then I started to kick out with my back legs. There was nowhere for them to go but out from underneath him, but at least they took pawfuls of fur out with each kick.

"Let go!" He sounded furious. It felt great to hear him scream.

"No!" He rolled back over onto his paws in attempt to knock me off once more. I clung on like a burr. "If I can't get rid of you, than you can't get rid of me."

"You tell 'em Iceshadow." That was the strange cats voice. I dragged my attention away from Tigerstar long enough to see Hawkfrost drag his claws down the grey cat's shoulder.

"Got you," Tigerstar shouted in triumph. He bucked beneath me in the moment I took to turn away, and had knocked me to the ground. "You should have ran when that worm told you to." He smiled as he stood over me. One paw on my throat."

I was sick of these dreams. "You know what," I said, flicking my ears. His tail twitched in confusion, but he said nothing. "I hate you."

His paw pressed harder, just as I had hoped. With a great yank, I pulled my head to the side hard enough to slip his paw off. He stumbled forward, leaving me directly below his exposed belly. I showed no mercy. Not this time. My claws ripped large gashes in the soft flesh. Not as big as Scourges, but big enough. He bellowed loudly, stumbling away from my blows.

I stood over him, preparing to deal the final blow. This is it. Dead or not, dream or not, I would be rid of him for good.

"That's enough." I knew that voice. Feathertail. The world went dark. I couldn't see anything. No sound came to my ears. Tigerstar, Hawkfrost, even that odd grey cat who had probably saved me was gone.

 **Yeah... That ended badly. At least for Iceshadow. So who's that strange grey cat with blue eyes? Walking in her dreams like that. Psh. Surely coincidence, right?! XD**

 **Seriously though, sorry about such a long wait. I was soooo angry at my internet connection for not letting me post but the problem is fixed for now. I also might go back to the old Tuesday schedule for posting. Both Rising and Falling have now been updated, and I even have two new stories. Feel free to check them out if you like pokemon.** **Please check them out. ;_;** **Next post won't have as long of a wait. I promise. ;)**


	9. Falling Stars

"Are you alright, Iceshadow?" The darkness around me dissolved. In its place was the lakeshore. Sparkling stars glinted on its still surface. Feathertail stood a few tail lengths in front of me.

I fluffed out my fur and flattened it to try to calm myself down. "I'm fine." She was such a welcome sight compared to my bloodthirsty fam- No. Compared to Tigerstar and Hawkfrost. "It's good to see you, old friend."

She smiled and padded forward. "You as well. I was afraid you were beyond my reach."

I twitched. That didn't make sense. "What do you mean? Those cats were dead. Wasn't that some part of Starclan or something?"

Her eyes darkened, and her fur lost some of its starry luster. She stared me in the eye. "No. Those cats are not Starclan warriors. They are from something called the Dark Forest."

Relief washed over me. Good. They weren't watching me from above. They were nothing like her, and hopefully I wouldn't have to see them again. "Sooo….. what do you mean 'beyond your reach,'" I asked. Her paws shuffled. She turned and started pacing.

I had never seen her this way. There was no doubt about it, she was afraid. I took a step forward. "Feathertail…."

She froze. Her expression changed. "Things are falling apart." There was a glitter in her eyes as she looked back at me.

"Oh Feathertail." My confusion instantly turned to fear. Every hair on my neck stood up straight. She was crying. "I… I-it can't be that bad." My voice broke. Who was I kidding? Definitely not her. My feeble attempt to reassure her probably only made things worse.

She shook her head. "It is. You know can't tell you what's happening here, but while everyone's living their lives down at the lake, tensions are rising. Both in the world of living and the world of the dead. Starclan is broken. Nobody trusts each other. The Stars are falling, and the Darkness is filling their void."

"Please stop," I moaned, gritting my teeth. "You know I hate half truths and riddles. Can't you just tell me what's happening," I said, struggled to lower my fur without success.

She looked down at her paws. "You know I can't tell you everything. But I won't let Starclan's problems keep you in the dark. Not entirely."

This made me prick my ears. Perhaps I was finally going to get a straight answer from her.

Her head shot up to the stars above us. " I can tell you this, stay away from the Dark Forest and all the cats within it. I've already seen too much of their aftermath. Something's coming."

I hissed in frustration. "I already know that something's coming. THEY have told me just as much." In frustration, I let my tail slap against the water. Its surface shattered into hundreds of fragments. As it started to even out again, the surface grew lighter. The sun was rising. Time was running out and I was still nowhere. "What's wrong with Starclan? And what does Scourge want with me?!"

Feathertails eyes widened. "Scourge!? It can't be…." She whipped around and started running down the lakeshore.

"Hey!" I started to chase after her. "Where are you going?" The lakeshore started to dissolve beneath my paws. I was waking up. Time's up. "Feathertail!" Everything faded around me until I was once again in darkness.

The dream was gone…. but not before a small whisper reached my ears. Feathertail. " _You're a smart cat, Iceshadow. You don't need my answers. All you need is time. STAY AWAY FROM THE DEAD! Even if it means never seeing me again."_

 **Sorry. Know it's a short one this time, especially for me. XD I just couldn't get a longer chapter to work well. Maybe you'll get another small chapter on Thursday. Then again... maybe not. It depends how well these next few days go. ;)**


	10. Some Friend

I was back in my mossy nest. All around me, cats were stirring. Everything seemed… normal. But it wasn't. Something was coming, and nobody knew.

I shook myself off. Should I tell Jayfeather? The thought brought a spark of annoyance. He was acting strange, and I'd rather not talk to him, but he was still the medicine cat.

My mind was made up before I really thought about it, though. With a heave, I pushed myself to my feet and hauled myself out of the warrior's den. The cool air hit me. Shivers ran down my spine. "Jayfeather," I called as I made my way over to the medicine cat's den. "I need to talk to you."

The brambles in front of his den parted as the grumpy medicine cat poked his head out. A frown ticked at the edge of his lips. "Yes. What is it? I'm a little busy at the moment."

I lowered my voice. "I need to talk to you. I think I saw something in my dreams."

He scoffed and turned away. "What could you possible see?"

"Starclan," I said, temper threatening to rise. "I talked to someone from Starclan."

This time he snorted. "Well you might as well come on in. Tell me all about it." To think he is one of my closest friends. The snot nosed furball. And yet, I followed. A white pelt glowed beyond the brambles. "Ivypool. You're fine. Go ahead and join a patrol or something."

She came out at the sound of his voice. Her eyes were wide, but she nodded. She seemed… numb. "Ivypool," I called after her, but she kept walking.

"Are you going to tell me what you saw or what," Jayfeather's harsh mew tore my attention back to the empty medicine den. He sat down a few tail lengths away.

No briarlight either. What was going on?

 _Are you going to tell me why you've been nothing but a pain in the tail lately,_ I thought. "Fine," I said instead, letting a little venom seep into my voice. "I was talking to… a cat in my dream, when a silver cat with stars in her fur pulled me away." I decided not to mention what had happened with Tigerstar and Hawkfrost. Or Feathertail for that matter. I still wasn't sure what happened myself. Not to mention the cat who had saved me. "She told me that something was coming. Something dark. And that Starclan was having trouble."

"Is that all," he hissed. He didn't even sound surprised. I was taken aback. "And here I thought you were going to tell me something new. Useless. I'm the medicine cat. If Starclan has anything to say, they tell me and Firestar. I already know something's coming, and I already know about Starclan."

He already knew everything… My temper boiled over and I snapped. "Oh yeah? Well how am I supposed to know? Why would they tell me when they've already told you? And on top of that, you don't bother to tell anyone about anything. I didn't even know you were blind until I had been her for moons."

His eyes widened a little but I kept going. There was no stopping the flood once it came. "I don't even know why I bothered. You've been on my case for days like you think I'm hiding something, then as soon as I tell you when something's wrong, you bite my head off." My claws unsheathed and my paws buzzed. The rage was coming on. "Maybe I should have kept it to myself. It's not like you're going to tell me what you've been hiding, or why you suddenly don't give a piece of fox dung about being a friend. To think I thought you were one of my first friends here. Obviously you don't care what I have to say."

I hit the breaking point. Claws still unsheathed, I turned and pelted out of the medicine cat's den, practically toppled over Foxleap, and then streaked out the clan entrance.

Cherrypaw was on the other side of the tunnel, returning from dirtplace. "Iceshadow? What's wrong," she called. I ignored her and ran past, leaving her far behind. I guess I was no better than Jayfeather.

It felt good to run, so I kept running. I didn't really care where I was going. All that mattered was that I ran. As if I could outrun everything that was happening.

My head started to clear and my lungs began to burn. I hadn't noticed, but my breath was coming in short pants. Finally, I slowed. Who knows how long I had been running? I looked around. Everything looked strange. I didn't recognize these trees. Pine trees. Oh no. I opened my mouth to taste the air. Shadowclan! I had crossed the border.

I turned around. Everything stank of Shadowclan. I couldn't even find my own scent trail.

A voice drifted through the trees. "Hey! I think I smell something." Pelts flashed between the trees. It was a border patrol.

Desperately, I flung myself towards the nearest underbrush I could find. Why!? Why now of all times?! Why me?!

The voices came closer. "What do you smell, Crowfrost?"

"I thought I scented Thunderclan." A black and white pelt appeared through the branches I was looking through.

There was a shuffling sound as a mottled grey pelt passed by the black and white one towards where I had been standing moments ago. Another voice sounded. "Heh. I don't smell anything. I think you're losing it, Crowfrost." That was Stormpatch! I felt a spark of annoyance deep inside. Of course that furball had to be here.

"I did, though," the senior warrior grumbled. "I swear, it was right here."

Rowanclaw's voice sounded next. "Hm… I only smell Shadowclan here. Maybe the wind carried the scent so far into our territory. Let's check to make sure. Crowfrost, you and I will check the border for any signs of crossing. Thrushpelt, take Redwillow and go down towards the lake and check the border there."

"What about me!" That was Stormpatch again.

"Check around this area. If Crowfrost was correct, then that mange-pelt has to be nearby."

My heart felt like it was going to beat out of my chest as footsteps faded into the distance. I let out a sigh of relief. "That was close."

"I'd say so." My heart stopped as the bush parted to reveal a mottled grey face smiling down on me. "You can come out now, Beautiful."

 **Darn-it Stormpatch! XD I think that's my new favorite saying. ;)**


	11. I Owe You

Yeah…. I hissed in his face.

He jerked back in surprise and shook his head back and forth. "What the- Is that the thanks I get for not giving you away?"

"You're darn right it is," I snap and haul myself out from the bush. The branches scraped against my fur. With one last yank, I jerked forward and landed flat on my nose.

Stormpatch struggled to hold back laughter, and was clearly failing. "Here." He reached down and pressed his nose under my belly to push me up.

I jerked away at his touch. "Don't!"

He pulled back in surprise. "Sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you or-"  
I sighed. "No… I'm okay. I just don't… need your help getting up. That's all." I pulled myself to my paws. It felt like I was burning beneath my pelt. I know he was trying to help… It's just that I still hadn't quite forgotten what had happened when I was still in Bloodclan. Images of amber eyes flashed behind my eyelids. Don't think about it.

Stormpatch stared at me with soft eyes, but he said nothing. Just backed away. I sighed. "I'm the one who should be sorry. Thank you. If it wasn't for you, those cats would have torn me apart."

His eyes stayed soft, but his lips twitched back into that smile of his. "A tough, prickly she cat like you? No way. You'd just have to talk to them to get them to leave you alone."

A smile worked its way onto my face. "You really think so? I mean, after all, I couldn't seem to get you to leave me alone at the border."

He flicked his ears and dipped his head. "That's because I know why you're like that."

His words made me feel like I just plunged into cold water. I was dumbstruck. "You do, do you?" My words were supposed to come out sarcastic. Instead, they just sounded blank. "How do you know anything about me?"

He shrugged and stepped forward. He looked down at me, muzzle inches away from the top of my head. The cold feeling lifted. Strange. I felt warm next to him. "To be honest, I don't know much about you. You're a mystery to me. Not a stranger. That's why I want to find out more about you. Nevertheless, one thing about you is obvious enough."

His blue eyes bore into mine. Something flashed in them. Something deep, deep within him. Did I know this cat? More than some strange Shadowclan cat I met at a gathering? "How do you know why I don't like strangers?"

 _CAW!_ A crow had landed in the tree above us. It's call broke the moment. His eyes flicked away. My fur raised as I realized something important.

I was still in Shadowclan territory.

"I-I have to go. I can't let your clanmates know I was here. It's bad enough that my scent is here." I back away.

He took a step toward me, then stopped. "Go ahead. Don't worry about the scent. I'll take care of it."

I nodded. "Thank you." I turn to take off, then turn back around. "I owe you one, Stormpatch, but I still want to know how you know."

He chuckled. "Come to the next Gathering. Maybe then we can get some real time to talk."

The next gathering. "Ok," I nodded and took off towards the border. "I'll see you then," I whisper to myself as I hit the Thunderclan scent line.

 **Fixed IT! Sorry everyone. FFN's been replacing my chapters with coding for no reason whatsoever. This should fix it. ;)**


	12. Meeting Up

Brambleclaw looked annoyed. Firestar had said that I could come to the gathering again, despite what happened at the tree bridge last time. Obviously, Brambleclaw didn't want me to come. He was sure that I'd pull something like that again. As if it were my fault.

We were almost to the bridge. Silverpelt glimmered above us, paled by the full moon. My paws itched to run ahead, but I kept my pace. Cherrypaw and Foxleap were walking next to me and I didn't need them to get suspicious. Besides, we were already towards the front of the group. Only a tail length or two behind Firestar and Brambleclaw.

In front of us, Shadowclan was crossing over to the island. The tree bridge shone in the low light. The smooth wood still slick with today's early rain. Great. Another chance to slip. My fur rose at the thought.

Cherrypaw must have noticed, because she flicked me with her tail. A big smile lit her face. "Don't worry. You won't fall. You can cross with Foxleap, Rosepetal, Molepaw and me. We won't let you slip."

I didn't like the idea that I had to be chaperoned like an apprentice. Watched over for a simple mistake like I didn't know what I was doing. Nevertheless, I let out a purr. Leave it to Cherrypaw to try to cheer me up. At least I could depend on her.

And of course at that moment, Jayfeather pushed through us to talk to Firestar. Not once did he turn to acknowledge me. His gaze, or maybe lack of a gaze, only on the cats in front of us. He never did acknowledge what I had said in his den days ago, before I ran into Stormpatch. Neither did I. Honestly, him and I hadn't spoken since, and I was perfectly fine with that.

Stupid fur ball.

The last of the Shadowclan cats cleared away, leaving the bridge open for us. I climbed on after Cherrypaw, followed closely by Rosepetal. The bark was slick. I could have sworn I felt the tree shift beneath me. My claws unsheathed to their full extent. No way was I going to let myself be so careless again.

In front of me, Cherrypaw chattered away. She was talking to me, but I had lost track of what she was saying. My eyes drifted over to the shore. Was he…

"See, Iceshadow! What did I tell you? You did fine." Cherrypaw leaped off the end of the tree onto the shore and started bouncing up and down. We were already at the end! I pulled my claws back and leaped down after her, with Rosepetal and Molepaw close on my heals. I shook myself of. I needed to wake up. Not let my mind drift. That cat was worth my full attention. Especially over my clanmates. Right?

"Don't be silly," Molepaw scolded his sister. "Ivypool said that she wasn't paying attention and slipped. You don't need looking over like a scared kit, right Iceshadow?"

Cherrypaw visibly drooped. "I was just trying to help."

Foxleap rested his tail against her. "I know, but Molepaw is right. She can handle herself."

At the same time, Rosepetal swatted Molepaw over the ears with her tail. "Iceshadow can speak for herself, Molepaw, but there is no need for you to be rude to your sister."

Molepaw opened his mouth to complain, but I jumped in before the situation could get any worse for the siblings. "I'm fine. Actually, I really appreciated the help, Cherrypaw. I think I got the hang of it now."

Molepaw looked at me and nodded, as if accepting my attempt to fix the situation for him. Cherrypaw perked back up. Back to her normal self. "Really?"

I nodded and laughed. She had turned full circle. Even Rosepetal and Foxleap were chuckling. "Really."

"Yeah!" She ran around to my side and started pushing me towards the clearing. "Come on. I want you to meet some of my friends. I wanted to show you at the last gathering, but I couldn't come. Now you can meet Featherpaw and…"

She rattled off a few more names as she pushed me along. I would have gone too. Either that or sat with Ivypool and her friends again. The only thing that stopped me was a flash of a mottled grey pelt and bright blue eyes disappearing into a clump of ferns. "Actually, Cherrypaw… There's someone I met here at the last gathering that I'd like to talk to first."

She cocked her head, slightly surprised. It only lasted a heartbeat. Her smile reappeared. "Okay then. When you finish, I'll be over there by that tree." She flicked her tail towards a nearby pine. "Then you can meet them all."

"Thanks, Cherrypaw," I called, whipping around and followed the cat through the ferns. "Stormpatch?"

Nobody was there. It was nothing more than an empty expanse of grass leading down to the shore. I must have been wrong.

"Boo."

Something touched my flank.

My claws shot out. The fur on my back fluffing up as I turned to rake my claws across Stormpatch's shoulder. "Hey," he grunted as my claws came short of his flesh, ripping fur instead. Uh oh.

"What are you doing," I demanded. It was a struggle not to shout at him. "I could have killed you."

He rubbed a paw over the shoulder I scratched. His stupid grin was back on his face. "It was just a joke. Did I get you good or what?"

Of course. I slammed a fore paw into his side. Claws sheathed this time. I couldn't believe he snuck up on me again. Must be getting rusty. This tom was worse than Cherrypaw. He stumbled to the side, laughing, as my paw made contact. His laughter was contagious.

"Don't you dare do anything like that again," I said, trying to keep a straight face. I failed. The laughter bubbled out despite my best efforts.

His blue eyes met mine. It felt like those eyes could see into my very soul. "Come on. I'll tell you what I know about you." His tail tip brush against my cheek as he turned and started padding towards the shore. I instinctively hissed at the touch. That made him chuckle some more. "Then we can chat like elders, just like I said."

Suddenly, I no longer needed to know how he knew anything about me. I wanted to know more about him instead. Why was he so different then the rest?

 **What's this? I'm posting a chapter after... what? Half a year? Yup. I couldn't keep up with my schedule and burned myself out. So here I am, back and posting. I don't leave a story go unfinished. Of course, I won't be posting as much as I used to. I'll be adding chapters as I feel fit. Sorry about that, of course I doubt I have anyone left waiting to read my stories anymore. Sorry about that.**

 **And just because... ;)**


	13. Apologies

My paws sunk into the sand next to the shore. I shivered as the cool water passed over them and pulled back. "So…," I started as I looked out across the lake. "What do you know? Or was this all another stupid joke?"

He slipped forward onto the sand, stopping a few tail lengths from the water's edge. He glanced at the lapping surface with a strange look before his blue eyes locked onto my green. "It's no joke," he said. "I know that, deep down, you are afraid of what you are and what you've done. That you have been in a place where it's impossible to tell good from bad and that all you want is to feel like you belong somewhere." His voice was gentle. Kind. It had an almost soothing quality, despite the unnerving words.

I took a step back, letting the water wash over my paws once more. "And how do you know that?"

A sad glint appeared in his eye. "Because you and I are a lot alike. In fact, when I was a kit my mother told me everything about you."

His mother?! Well, I wasn't expecting that. He couldn't be serious, could he? I tilted my head and stared at him for a moment. He looked back at me with that same sad look. I suppose I didn't know all that much about Stormpatch, but up until now the tom only ever seemed to laugh and joke. To see him sad like this… He was serious.

"Okaaaaaay," I said slowly. "And how exactly did your mother know anything about me?"

His eyes widened for a moment before he shook his head. He smiled once more. "Sorry. I guess I'm getting ahead of myself. You need more of an explanation then that."

I sat down, ready to listen for a good long time if I had to. I had forgotten something, though.

I was still standing ankle deep in water.

"Foxdung," I hissed as I scampered out of the lapping waves. Great. Just great. Now my tail end was cold and wet.

"Pffft… Hahahaha!" Next to me, Stormpatch was rolling on his side laughing. Nice and dry in the sand. Now I was ticked. Oh no he doesn't!

I shook myself off right there, letting the water droplets rain down on him.

"Hey!" Stormpatch scrambled away. He didn't stop laughing, though. "Come on, Iceshadow. Even you have to admit that was funny?"

Never. Not to him. I took one quick glance at the sand below before sitting down once more. "Can you just tell me what you have to tell me already," I grumbled.

He settled down a couple of tail lengths away from me. He must not have trusted me not to shake myself off again. Smart cat. The idea was tempting.

"I guess for anything to make sense," he started with a sly smile. "I'm going to have to let you in on a secret about me."

My ears perked. He had all of my attention. It was silent for a few heartbeats. Nothing but the sound of murmuring cats on the other side of the island. He looked back towards the trees. My ears strained forward. The suspense was killing me.

Spit it out furball!

Finally, he looked back at me with the biggest smile I'd ever seen. "I wasn't born in the clans. I was originally a rogue in twoleg place, just like you!"

Thoughts rushed through my head faster than I could fully process them. Questions poured out of my mouth. "Were you around during the reign of Bloodclan? Was your mother a Bloodclan cat? Was that how she knew me? How did you-"

Stormpatch flicked his tail to stop me. "Whoah, whoah," he called. His eyes danced with excitement. "Calm down."

"Start from the beginning," I demanded.

"No need to be bossy," he said, pretending to be offended. "But if it's what the she cat wishes..."

And just like that, he told me his story. Right from the beginning.

* * *

He told about his life before the clans. Him and his siblings had been born shortly after Scourge and Bloodclan fell. Their mother had never been a part of Bloodclan, but knew plenty about it. She had lost an older kit to my old clan. Probably one of the ones I stole. Or killed…

Like every other cat in twoleg place, his mother knew which cats to be most afraid of. Scourge's elite. Cats like Bone, Brick, Snake, Ice, Striker, and me. The other Ice.

He never knew his father.

I suppose his mother had many more stories left to tell him, but he had been separated from her and his siblings countless seasons ago. He became a loner, and stayed with a group of loners in an abandoned twoleg den. He learned plenty more about Bloodclan there. But he had also learned about a bunch of wildcats living outside of twoleg place. Wildcats like the ones his mother once told stories about.

Mostly out of curiosity, he ventured into the woods to find most of the wild cats had already moved on, with only a few left to die in their old home. His curiosity became his personal mission. It took him moons, but eventually, he crossed twolegplace and skimmed the sundrown place until he happened across a group of kittypets arguing about wild cats living in the pine trees.

He followed their directions right into Shadowclan territory. Stormpatch told them about his journey. Blackstar must have pitied him, because the old leader gave in and let him stay. From that point on, he was a Shadowclan warrior.

And that was it.

That was the story he had to tell me. Don't get me wrong, I asked plenty of questions in between, but now that he had finished. Both of us looked at each other in silence.

It was a lot to take in.

My stiff legs protested as I stood up. "Iceshadow-?" Stormpatch said as he stood up as well.

"It's getting late," I murmer, turning away from the water. "We better go back, before our clanmates start to miss us and the meeting finishes."

Stormpatch's ears and tails drooped. "Wait! Iceshadow," he cried. With a spray of sand he leaped forward and cut me off. "What are you doing? You can't just leave. I mean… I just told you about a part of me some of my clanmates don't even know about. Aren't you going to say something? Anything?"

I froze. My gaze drifts down to my paws. "I don't really know what to say. If everything you told me is true, then I need time to think it over." And it was true. I needed time by myself. I guess all that time traveling alone before coming to the lake is to blame for that.

So I took off running towards the clearing. Stormpatch's gaze was solemn, but stepped aside to let me run past. If he followed me, I didn't hear him, and I didn't look back to find out.

By the time I made it back to the clearing, Mistystar had already started speaking to the cats gathered below. As silently as possible, I slipped into a group of Thunderclan cats sitting near the edge of the clearing and took my place next to Cherrypaw.

"There you are," she whispered in an irritated voice. "I've been looking everywhere for you."

"Yeah," I whispered back, but my voice wavered. She looked at me with confusion, but I barely noticed. My mind was still back at the lakeshore. "I'm sorry."

In all honesty. I'm not sure who I was apologizing to, Cherrypaw, or Stormpatch.

* * *

 **I know this announcement is breaking the rules but I wanted to let everyone who is following this story to see it, and I plan on deleting it after a week or two.**

 **To anyone who was interested in/ reading this story, I have some news.**

 **Updating this story has been getting harder over the last year or two, and as of now, I will no longer be continuing it.**

 **INSTEAD, it has been adopted by Flamespirits who (hopefully this link works) can be found here.**

 **/u/9035489/**

 **They will be reposting existing chapters and continuing after the point where I left off. I highly suggest you look this author up. They're also a big warriors fan with their own prickly little OC.**

 **Thank you so much for reading, and maybe sticking with me this long if there's anyone out there left to read this.**

 **Icy over and out. ;)**


	14. Announcement

**I know this announcement is breaking the rules but I wanted to let everyone who is following this story to see it, and I plan on deleting it after a week or two.**

To anyone who was interested in/ reading this story, I have some news.

Updating this story has been getting harder over the last year or two, and as of now, I will no longer be continuing it.

INSTEAD, it has been adopted by **Flamespirits** who (hopefully this link works) can be found here.

/u/9035489/

They will be reposting existing chapters and continuing after the point where I left off. I highly suggest you look this author up. They're also a big warriors fan with their own prickly little OC.

Thank you so much for reading, and maybe sticking with me this long if there's anyone out there left to read this.

 **Icy over and out. ;)**


End file.
